


And Even Stranger Yet

by xo_thefirst



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Slice of Life, Wolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-24
Updated: 2018-01-24
Packaged: 2019-03-09 02:30:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13471797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xo_thefirst/pseuds/xo_thefirst
Summary: Jongin doesn’t believe in mates, but it doesn’t mean he isn’t willing to date others (specifically Yifan) to find out.





	And Even Stranger Yet

The outdoor market is lively today. There are elderly men and women moving about, inspecting the produce and meats that are being put on display, and there are children running around trying to play and avoid hitting a vendor stall in their path. Laughter and shouts of all kinds fill the air around him and Jongin takes the sight and sounds in with a smile on his face. The high-pitched squeals and shrieks ring in his ears, but it’s nothing compared to feeling how welcomed—how _alive_ —he feels in this exact moment.

There aren’t very many places like this in the world nowadays. Nowadays, there are robots and advanced technology to sort out the produce and meats, to stack them on shelves and communicate with patrons to complete the standard exchange of money and food. Yet it’s always a nice change of pace to stumble upon a town that still prefers human interaction over anything else that’s out there in the scientific market.

It puts Jongin at ease, like how he knows it does for other creatures like him, and he doesn’t hesitate stepping forward towards the market. He doesn’t hesitate greeting everyone who greets him and he gasps when he feels someone suddenly run into him from behind, small arms wrapping around his waist and a face burying itself in the small of his back.

“You came back today, Jongin!” a little girl squeals, words muffled into his shirt. It’s a ticklish sensation that makes Jongin smile wider, but then the little girl is moving away from him, detaching herself far enough so he can turn around and see her face-to-face. He stifles a laugh when he sees her pout. “I thought you said you were leaving today.”

Jongin snorts in his attempt to hide his laugh. “I did say that,” he starts off, watching as she simply frowns at him next. When he crouches down in front of her, he reaches out to play with one of her pigtails, probably styled by her mother that morning. “But I felt the need to stay a while longer,” he finishes, finally laughing, when the girl’s frown instantly transforms into a smile and she cheers.

“Then can you help me?” she excitedly asks before she’s launching herself at him for a proper hug with arms around his neck. It makes Jongin laugh more, easily lifting her up to carry her in his arms. “Momma wanted some food, but I told her you were leaving so she said to only get some fish and veggies. But since you’re here, you can help me get everything she wants!”

Her voice rings in his ears with how loud she is, but he nods anyways. “Just tell me everything she wants, okay?” he says, chuckling when she nods enthusiastically. She tugs on some strands of hair on the back of his head in the process, but it doesn’t deter Jongin. All it does is make his heart swell with affection for the girl who reminds him of his niece back home.

So, they spend time together at the market. He carries her around as she points to which items she knows her mother wants and he helps her decide which other foods she isn’t sure about but knows her mother probably wouldn’t mind. He lets her down when she wriggles enough and complains she finally wants to walk around and Jongin is helpless but to go with her whims. He feels like he’s with family when he’s with her and he guesses it helps even more when she suddenly turns around to start rubbing at his belly.

“What are you doing?” he sings along, trying to stop himself from laughing at her silly antics.

“You’ve been a good puppy!” she easily exclaims back, catching the attention of some of the other patrons. Though, it isn’t enough for them to keep it when she just shoos them away with expressive hand gestures.

Without meaning to, Jongin sighs quietly, reaching out to stop her hand from rubbing at his stomach. “For the last time, little one, wolves don’t like belly rubs as much as dogs.” He flinches when she pinches his stomach.

“And I’m telling _you_ that you like belly rubs even though you keep denying it.”

“Says the girl who still thinks predestined mates are still a thing nowadays.”

“They are! It’s romantic!”

“I can’t believe I’m arguing with a ten-year-old,” Jongin mutters, glaring down at the little girl in front of him. It doesn’t faze her though. If anything, it makes her glare back up at him, just as fierce as if she _had_ wolf blood in her.

“You better believe you’re arguing with a ten-year-old!” she exclaims, losing the glare to smile brightly at him. “You can’t say I’m wrong. I’m never wrong!”

Jongin doesn’t even know what to say to that. He simply stares at her, dumbfounded, because this isn’t the first time she’s said that to him. It only amazes him further when he realizes later, much later, that she’s right.

 

 

Rior is a town known for its ‘natural’ state. It’s a town that isn’t too large or too small, too technologically advanced or repressed, and Jongin thinks this town is a gem in itself. He thinks he was lucky to stumble upon it in his travels, moving away from the large city he had been living in for over a year to find something new, yet he still doesn’t know how long he wants to stay. He had already decided on leaving by the time a year was almost up, but he couldn’t convince himself to do it. He had packed his bags, everything left by the front door, but the moment he woke up this morning, he knew he couldn’t do it, not yet anyways.

He doesn’t even know what he’s doing at this hour. It’s past eight in the evening, after he helped the little girl back to her house and her mother invited him for dinner the next day as thanks, but he didn’t make it back home. He felt too restless, too pent up with too many thoughts and energy. Before he knows it, he’s stumbling into the convenience store he works at, smiling as he sees his manager reading a magazine behind the main counter.

“If you were going to stay up longer, I would’ve asked for you to work for me tonight,” she says, laughing when he scrunches his nose at her. “What are you doing anyways? I thought you were leaving?”

Jongin sighs, “I thought so too.” He made plans for it, to keep moving, coming and going as he pleases without a care in the world, but— “I don’t think I’m ready to leave this town yet.”

His manager hums as if she understands, sending him a sympathetic look and smile even as she doesn’t, and he takes that chance to wander throughout the place. It isn’t as large as those mainstream brand grocery stores, but it’s enough to carry all the basic necessities and then some.

He passes by the aisle for cereal and chips, grabbing a few of his favorite snacks, before making his way for the milk. He’s running low and he’d rather not have to eat cereal with water again if he can help it.

A sneeze catches his attention right when he grabs a jug of milk from the refrigerated section. It makes him still in his steps, lifting his head a bit higher to listen more carefully, and he recognizes the sniffles of a man two aisles over. It sounds too much to be a simple sneeze made from something tickling his nose and he sniffs the air, just in case, to see why. It doesn’t take a genius to smell the scent of sickness in the air.

Another sneeze sounds throughout the store and Jongin frowns, not even realizing someone else was in here besides him and his manager. He grabs a bag of cookies to pile on top of the cereal and chips in his arm before making his way over to where the sick stranger is. It doesn’t take long, but when he spots him, he stills in his spot a second time that night.

The man is tall, even taller than Jongin himself, and his nose is red. He’s constantly wiping at it with a tissue he has in one hand and Jongin notices the stranger has a small packet of Kleenex in the other one. He’s staring down at the shelf of medications made to fight the cold and Jongin wants to smile when he sees the other bend forward to try and read the labels more clearly in front of him. Two seconds later and the man sneezes a third time, almost knocking his head against the shelf.

“Whoa,” Jongin slips out, watching as the man flinches before facing him with wide eyes. They’re red-rimmed too. Jongin suddenly feels sorry for him. “I recommend the cold and flu combo med. The ten dollar one,” he offers, wondering if it was okay to step towards the other or not. He wants to, but—

“But that’s expensive,” the stranger mumbles, voice hoarse. He leans forward again to squint at the labels and Jongin can’t help but let out a burst of laughter. “Stop being amused at my misery,” the other suddenly whines, though he doesn’t look back at him. “This sucks.”

Jongin eyes the other, how he’s bundled up in a thick jacket and sweatpants even though it’s fairly warm outside. “I’ve never seen you before,” he muses aloud, waiting and watching as the other turns to him with an eyebrow raised. “I’ve been living here for a year now and I’m pretty sure I know everyone, but I haven’t seen you before.”

The way the other man laughs, a little tired, a little embarrassed with pink cheeks, makes Jongin smile softly. “That’s because I’m visiting a friend,” the other says. His hair is a little long, covering his eyes the slightest bit, and Jongin thinks he looks good despite being sick. “I don’t normally venture into an area with a lot of people, so I think my senses are going into overdrive and making me sick.”

That piques Jongin’s interest. He takes a step forward, completely forgetting about the items he’s carrying in his arms. “This town isn’t very large already,” he comments, staring, as the other man grabs the ten-dollar medicine anyways before straightening and facing him again. He sniffles, wipes at his nose, lets out a soft cough as if to clear his throat.

“I know,” he croaks out, wincing as he tries to clear his throat again.

They stand still, staring at each other. Though the other is simply looking at him, blinking too slow for someone who shouldn’t be standing, Jongin takes the chance to try and discreetly smell the air again. He sniffs once, trying to focus his senses into the man in front of him, but all he can smell is the sickness radiating out in front of him. It clogs his entire head, filling it with a dread that he could get sick next, and he tries to exhale all of it out as much as he can.

Another sneeze.

“Ugh,” the other groans afterwards, before he reaches up with the hand holding the packet of Kleenex to grab onto his head. He forces an eye open to look at Jongin and Jongin is floored by how pretty this man is in front of him. “My head is killing me. This medicine better work.”

“It will,” Jongin reassures, stepping aside when the other walks past him. He thinks the medicine should work anyways. It’s the only one that’s affected him as a wolf, so it should be able to affect anyone else who takes it. He frowns when he hears the other whimper as he wipes at his nose again. “Where are you staying?” he asks, not even thinking about it. “Are you able to make it back okay?” he continues on. He watches as the other nods, sniffling, before he looks over his shoulder at him.

There’s a hint of a smile on the man’s face. It makes Jongin feel better, less guilty for some unknown reason, and he tries to return the smile when the other opens his mouth to speak, only to start a coughing fit. It makes Jongin laugh. He laughs and feels lighter as he rushes around him to put his items on the edge of the counter where his manager is staring at him curiously, and he returns just as quickly to the stranger’s side. It seems to catch the other man off-guard because he suddenly sways on his feet.

“Let me help you,” Jongin offers, standing a foot away from the other. He holds a hand out, unsure if he’s asking to help the man hold his medicine—which is ridiculous—or to hold the man’s hand—which is equally as ridiculous.

“I can handle myself fine,” the other mumbles, in which Jongin agrees with the man’s idea that this entire ordeal is probably ridiculous. But when Jongin looks up from the stranger’s clenched hand, he catches a small smile on his lips, a hint of tired amusement in his eyes. “But if you insist,” he trails off, closing his eyes to blink but swaying instead. “Wait, shit.”

Jongin is quick to react, arms reaching out to catch the stranger and keep him standing. It doesn’t take him much effort, the man’s weight light in his arms, and Jongin thanks his family for his stronger genes, his supposed classification as an alpha for this. “I’m guessing that wasn’t intentional,” he says with a laugh, biting his lip to stop himself from laughing more when the man winces. “Sorry.”

“’s fine,” the other murmurs.

Jongin lets the other stay there for a moment, keeping him upright and still, that he doesn’t even realize his manager is standing a few feet away from them worried and confused.

“Jongin?” she calls out, staring at the man next to him. “Should I call a paramedic? The clinic should be open all night.”

It catches Jongin by surprise when he feels the man shake his head back and forth quickly. “No,” the stranger says, groaning, before he sways again. “Right, shouldn’t do that,” he tells himself, probably. “I think I need to sit,” he mumbles on, “Or take this medicine.”

“I’ll get you some water,” she quickly says.

When she disappears, Jongin looks to the stranger in his arms and considers a thought. He focuses on his hearing to listen to his manager opening the fridge in the back and then to the man’s ragged breathing next to him. He considers, then simply goes with it.

He reaches an arm behind the man’s knees and another behind his back. He listens as the man lets out a confused hum before Jongin quietly says, “I’m going to carry you to a chair to sit.”

“Wait, wha—”

Within seconds, Jongin is setting a confused man down on a chair behind the counter. It’s the closest one besides the chairs in the back and it’s the only one where his manager won’t immediately see him moving within the blink of an eye.

“Jongin,” his manager calls before she simply walks over to them, carrying another type of medicine with her. “Here,” she directs towards the stranger, “Take this.”

The man is still staring up at them confused, but he takes the proffered water and medicine anyways. He opens up the other pack, reading the instructions on the back of the box, before taking that too.

Jongin waits with them, eyeing the man and seeing if the strength of his ill scent will weaken the slightest, and smiles whenever the other stares up at him curiously. No words are spoken between them, but it’s obvious there are questions that need to be asked. Wolves may have been around for centuries, surviving the man-hunts for them years ago after the Vampire Scare and Salem Witch Trials, but they’ve learned to adapt to where they appear and act practically human, except for the packs that still choose to live in the forests around them.

The stranger opens his mouth, quickly turns to cough into his elbow, before clearing his throat and opening his mouth again. Both Jongin and his manager stare at him intently, Jongin frowning slightly when he can see flecks of gold appearing in the man’s eyes the longer he stares into them, and then he points to the counter next to them. “Your milk is going to spoil if you don’t refrigerate it soon.”

“Huh?” Jongin slips out, now completely confused, before he follows the direction the man is pointing in. When he finally lands eyes on the items on the counter, he makes a face. “Oh.”

“Yeah,” the stranger says, _giggles_ even.

That catches Jongin completely off-guard and he has to have his manager hit him on the shoulder for it. “Ow,” he deadpans, still staring at the stranger with wide eyes because that was _cute_ , before he turns to frown at his manager. “Can you ring me up? Or can I just pay?”

“Whatever you want,” his manager says with a shrug. “The medicine should start working soon, so you can probably make it home okay,” she tells the other man, before looking to Jongin again. “But I think you should make sure he makes it home okay.”

Jongin stares from his manager to the stranger sitting in the chair and back again. The golden flecks entrance Jongin.

“You work tomorrow anyways. Get your groceries then.”

Jongin finds he can’t say no.

 

 

Ten minutes later, Jongin finds he should’ve said no. He’s walking a foot away from a man sneezing and coughing his lungs out but none of that compares to witnessing a man still be as pretty as when he wasn’t sneezing and coughing his lungs out. Jongin thinks that’s the strangest thought on a planet that’s already strange in itself and he frowns when he hears the man whimper for the seventh time since he first met him.

“You really didn’t have to walk me back,” the stranger finally breathes out, steadying his breaths so he doesn’t fall into another coughing fit. “I would’ve made it fine on my own.”

When Jongin turns to stare at him, he’s surprised to see the golden flecks glowing in the man’s eyes. “Yeah, but then I wouldn’t be able to sleep peacefully tonight if something happened to you and I could’ve prevented it.” He wishes he can step closer to see _why_ this man’s eyes are practically glowing under the stars.

The other shrugs, inhaling sharply, before coughing again. This time, it lasts for five minutes. Not bad. “I’m never returning to any city or town,” he groans out, holding a hand up to his chest. “This shit hurts.”

And slowly, as if the pieces were falling together in an agonizingly long game of Tetris, Jongin finally understands. His eyes widen as he stills, watching the other walk past him a few steps before stopping to stare back at him confused, and Jongin recognizes those golden flecks in his eyes, even though they’re rimmed red and paired with a red nose and red lips. “You’re a wolf,” he whispers out, watching as the other’s eyes widen just the same. A beta. “Your eyes,” he tries to explain, taking a step closer to him. “Wolf.”

“How coherent,” the other mumbles, though he doesn’t move away. He sniffles, maybe even sniffs, before he groans again. “I can’t smell anything,” he whines seconds later, still trying to sniff the air around him, appearing more relaxed than he did before. “Do you smell good? I’m assuming you’re a wolf too.”

Well, then. “I don’t know?” Jongin answers, confused himself. He lifts up the collar of his shirt and tries to sniff that instead. “My sense of smell has dulled considerably since I moved away. I don’t know if I smell good or not.”

The stranger—not stranger?—groans again, before he coughs. Again. “To be honest, you look like you smell good,” he confesses. His cheeks are flushed red, but Jongin can’t tell if that’s from being sick or from confessing something so primitive. “When I first arrived here, I could smell everything perfectly fine. Someone smelled like berries and spices.” He coughs hard. “It’s a strange combination, but it was so pleasant.” He scowls. “And then all this came up and everything hurts and my senses suck.”

Jongin tentatively sniffs the air again, taking another step closer to see if he can distinguish this person’s scent in front of him too. He can’t really, not with this sickness hovering over him like a black cloud, and Jongin feels the tickle in his throat before he quickly turns away and coughs into his arm too.

“Shit,” the stranger drawls out, groans, before shoving the small paper bag in his hands towards Jongin instead. “Take some of that before you get sick too.”

Jongin thinks it was just a tickle in his throat. He thinks it was something harmless, something everybody does, but when he grabs onto the bag, he accidentally grabs onto the stranger’s hand as well. It startles him. His hand is surprisingly cold, not so surprisingly clammy, and Jongin looks that little distance upwards to see the man’s mouth slightly hung open, as if in awe of Jongin himself. And all this time, Jongin doesn’t even know his name.

“Don’t blame me if you get sick,” the stranger warns, but his voice is soft, a little hoarse still. It makes Jongin smile if the tiniest bit, especially when he can feel the stranger’s hand lightly clench at the fabric of his shirt.

“What’s your name?” he asks, feeling his heart race a little faster, a little harder. Despite this man looking like he has the worst cold in history, he still looks so, so pretty to him. What will happen when he sees him all better and cold-free?

The pink that infuses the man’s cheeks can’t possibly be from whatever virus he has. “Yifan,” he answers quietly.

Jongin smiles wider, moving his hand the slightest bit to the side and feeling as Yifan slowly pulls his hand away from his chest. “Yifan,” he repeats, watching as Yifan nods silently. “Jongin,” he reciprocates, even though he knows Yifan knows his name by now. He wants to laugh at how adorable Yifan looks as he opens and closes his mouth in trying to find words to say.

“Do you believe in mates?” is what eventually comes out of Yifan’s mouth, and Jongin really does laugh. He guesses he deserves the punch to his arm at that.

“No,” he answers, smiling as Yifan frowns at him instead. “I really don’t.” The way Yifan’s expression falls makes Jongin’s chest ache. He wonders if Yifan is from a traditional pack still living in the woods, where life mates are still a normal occurrence, unlike wolves like him who don’t believe in it, who can’t even shift into their true wolf as they used to. “But I wouldn’t mind trying to figure that out.”

The smile that blooms on Yifan’s face is probably—most definitely—going to be worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> this was so short i'm sorry
> 
> maybe there will be more, maybe there won't be


End file.
